Inseparable
by youmeandem
Summary: "I graduated today. You didn't. I could go anywhere I want, and you'd still be here. Do you realize what that means?" Set after 3x22: Goodbye. One shot.


_We could be a million miles apart. Do you realize what that means?_

As Santana's heartbeat slowed down, she looked up at the ceiling. Her arms were wrapped around the most beautiful girl in the world, whose head was resting against her bare chest. Brittany seemed completely relaxed. Her arm was lazily draped over Santana's stomach, and her breathing had already steadied completely.

Santana wished she could be as restful as her girlfriend, but inside her head things were going crazy. A thousand thoughts tried to enter and leave at the same time, causing everything to get stuck and run through her mind a couple more times before being pushed aside by a new worry. All the chaos in her head made it impossible for her to close her eyes, let alone fall asleep.

Eventually she couldn't keep it inside anymore. She moved ever so slightly, glancing down at the blonde whose face wore a content expression. Her lips were slightly curled up as if she was smiling, and Santana knew this was her happy face. For a second she reconsidered waking her girlfriend up, but they couldn't ignore this forever. They _needed_ to have this talk. Without it, she would never be able to catch sleep, or do anything but worry.

"Britt?" she whispered in her girlfriend's hair, pressing her lips against the blonde's head.

The other girl stirred and hummed softly against Santana's skin. "Hmm?"

Santana felt a smile tug her lips, which faded as soon as she remembered the mission she was on. "Are you awake?"

"Hmm," Brittany hummed again, eyes still closed. But she was fully smiling now, and pressing soft kisses against Santana's bare breast.

"I want to talk about something."

Brittany froze, and went limp against Santana's body again. "I'm asleep," she mumbled, sounding so sleepy that if she hadn't been brushing her lips against the Latina's tan skin just seconds before, Santana would've believed she really was still asleep.

"No, you're not," she said, almost feeling regretful.

Brittany's eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at her girlfriend. "I am. When you want to talk about feelings, it's always sad, so I don't want to talk about whatever you want to talk about."

Santana took a second to let Brittany's words sink in. "It's not always sad. It wasn't sad when I decided I was ready to love you the way you deserve to be loved."

"That's true. I felt really happy when you did that. Is this going to make me happy, too?"

"No," Santana sighed. "Probably not."

"Then I don't want to talk about it. Let's go back to sleep." Brittany turned her head, pressing her face into Santana's chest with such force, Santana was worried the girl wouldn't be able to breathe properly. She moved her arm and gently pushed her girlfriend away. "No, Britt. Stop. This is really important."

Brittany stopped struggling, and bit her lip. "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

Santana took a deep breath. "I graduated today."

"I know. I'm really proud of you," Brittany smiled, pushing herself up to move closer to her girlfriend. Just before their lips touched, Santana turned her face. "_You_ didn't graduate."

Brittany's face fell, and she looked down. "Oh. Yeah, no, I know. It's okay, though. I don't mind going to school for another year."

Santana swallowed audibly, letting her gaze wander everywhere but Brittany's face. "But I won't be here. My mom was right, I shouldn't stay in Lima. I could go to Louisville, or New York, or any place I want. And you'd still be here."

"So?" Brittany raised her eyebrows, narrowing her eyes as if she didn't understand what Santana was trying to say.

"That means we're going to be apart. Separated. We could be a million miles apart. Do you realize what that means?"

"Of course I do. I'm not dumb." Brittany leaned into Santana again. "It means that you won't pick me up for school anymore. It means that we won't go to the Lima Bean for coffee before first period. It means that we can't sit next to each other in classes, pretending to pay attention and pointing out people with a bad-hair day. It means that you can't help me with my homework anymore, and that you can't let me copy your answers on tests. It means that we won't hang out after school, or go on our usual Friday-night dates. It means that we won't be sleeping over at each other's houses so much that my clothes are in your drawer, and your clothes are in mine. It means that we won't see each other as much as we want, and that there will never be enough time when we do. It means that we will have to get used to phone- and Skype calls all the time instead of physically being together. It means that I will have to miss you every second that you're gone, and it means that you will miss me every second you're away from me. But all of that doesn't matter, because I love you, and you love me, and we're not going to give up on that just because there's going to be some distance between us."

As she spoke, her voice became stronger and she changed her position again, until she locked eyes with Santana. And the Latina knew she was right. They could be on different planets, and they'd still not break up because of it. After going through so much together in order to finally be _together_, this couldn't possibly ruin everything. They weren't like all those other long-distance couples. They were stronger than any force that could ever possibly ruin them. And it was only for one year. After that, they could go some place together and be happy forever.

Santana relaxed, a small smile playing on her lips. Brittany returned the smile, suddenly looking unsure. But the Latina leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her girlfriend's forehead. "We'll be alright, won't we?"

Brittany nodded. "Yup, we will." She laid down again, pulling Santana with her. "And now I want to sleep."

"Okay, Britt," Santana said, letting out a soft laugh. She wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's body again, pulling her closer. Resting her head against the blonde's, she couldn't help but smile again. "Sweet dreams, Britt-Britt."

A few moments she waited for her girlfriend's response, but when it didn't come she realized the girl was already asleep. And with that, she fell in love a little more.


End file.
